ArticleMedicine2020
Effects of electroacupuncture therapy for depression: Study protocol for a multicentered, randomized controlled trial.
Article in Medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.
- Investigating the Antidepressant Mechanism of Acupuncture with a Focus on Mitochondrial Homeostasis.International journal of general medicine · 2026Review
- Traditional Chinese Medicine Ameliorates Depression via the Gut-Brain Axis: A Review Focus on NLRP3/TLR4-Mediated Inflammatory Pathways and Gut Microbiota Modulation.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionAs a major public health problem, depression has a negative impact on individuals and society. The aim of this well-designed trial is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) treatment for depression. METHODS/
designA 3-arm parallel, nonblinded, randomized controlled trial will be performed in 4 hospitals (centers). A total of 144 participants will be divided into 3 groups: EA group, manual acupuncture (MA) group, and western medicine group. Participants in EA group and MA group will receive 12 sessions of acupuncture treatment for 4 weeks. Participants allocated to western medicine group will only take 20 mg fluoxetine orally per day for 4 weeks. The primary outcome is Hamilton Depression Scale. Secondary outcomes are Self-Rating Depression Scale, Depression Scale of traditional Chinese medicine (Depression Scale of Traditional Chinese Medicine), brain fMRI and blood biomarkers including neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, inflammatory cytokines inerleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-6, and neurotrophin BDNF. All the outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 4 weeks after EA treatment onset and 6-month follow-up. DISCUSSION: The results of this trial will verify the efficacy and safety of EA treatment for depressive patients and provide acupuncturists and clinicians with robust clinical evidence.
trial registrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry identifier: ChiCTR1900023420. Version 1. Registered on 26 May 2019. http://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=37621&htm=4.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.